


riddles ➸ larry

by cxldesert



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No One Direction, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Cheeky Harry, Cheesy, Falling In Love, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Gay Male Character, Love, M/M, Riddles, Romantic Fluff, Roommates, Sappy, Short & Sweet, Slow Build, Soulmates Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22156360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cxldesert/pseuds/cxldesert
Summary: "𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙞 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚, 𝙡𝙤𝙪?""𝙣𝙤."or the one where harry tells his roommate louis riddles that make his eyes roll and his mouth pull into a big smile.[lowercase intended]
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> heyyyooooo
> 
> this has been in my drafts for waaaay too long. enjoy the soft content! :)

"harry, i'm hungover and tired, please don't." louis mumbled, face completely hidden in a fluffy pillow.

"oh, c'mon lou. i promise this one's good," harry pleaded, a wide smile with prominent dimples plastered onto his face. he bit his lip, suppressing the chuckle that was eager to be released from the aggravating walls of his closed mouth.

louis only made a variety of stifled groaning and disapproving noises, pulling the blanket over his body while harry watched from his own bed across the room.

"lou..." harry pressed on, sticking his lower lip out even though louis wasn't looking. "please, you can go to sleep after this. it's a really good one."

louis sucked in a long, deep breath, which he then let out in an exasperated sigh. "okay, fine." he finally gave in, holding back the smile on his face when he turned his head to look at harry— the smiley, goofy harry he was always fond of looking at. and who just so happened to let out an excited squeal, showing off his bright white teeth in a grin that only louis ever got to see so frequently. _and that only louis was the reason behind,_ but of course he didn't know that.

"okay, okay. so, i've got three eyes, right? and all are in a straight line. when my red eye opens, everything freezes. what am i?" harry bit his lower lip, grinning extra wide and chuckling to himself while he looked across the room to see the boy with squinted eyes looking right back at him.

louis scrunched up his face a little, pondering over the clues he was given then wincing at the pang in his head. it didn't take much long until he simply shook his head in defeat.

"a stoplight!" the other exclaimed, letting out an even louder laugh along with a slap to his knee. a small pool of tears began to brim in his eyes. "you get it?" he said in between his laughter, "because a stoplight has the three lights and when it's red everyone stops."

harry's ecstasy only brought a wide smile onto louis' face along with a soft chuckle. he nodded slowly in response, "yeah, i get it, h."

harry only smiled wider, his cheeks beginning to cramp up from how much he was smiling. he sat up proudly, feeling his stomach flutter. he always got excited and incredibly happy when louis laughed at his riddles. it was really the only reason he even told them— to hear the melodic sound of the boy's laugher ringing in his ears, and to see the big smile casted across his face.

"i'll go get you a pill now," harry said before standing up and making his way to the closet, pulling his duffel bag out. he rummaged through the mess that consisted of his binder and random misplaced papers along with pens and pencils until he felt the bottle of tylenol and smiled triumphantly. he took a water bottle out from the small fridge they shared and made his way back towards louis.

"here you go," he announced, sitting on the edge of louis' bed, a small pill tablet held out in one hand and the bottle of water in the other.

"thanks, h." louis said with a thankful smile as he took the pill and bottle from him.

despite the aching headache he had, the medication wasn't very necessary when harry's unbelievably dorky riddle was enough of a cure to end his misery, at least for a good moment.


	2. II

"lou?" harry whispered in the dark in hopes of his best friend being awake— or at least half asleep. "louis, are you awake?"

the room remained silent— no response from the other boy whatsoever. the only noise filling harry's eardrums was the soft patter of the rain gently crashing against the window and the faint noise of louis' slow breaths.

harry's eyebrows knit together while he moved in his bed to rest on his back and clasp his hands over his chest. it was only about half-past ten. he wasn't sure why louis had fallen asleep so early.

he let out a sigh, waiting patiently even though he knew louis wasn't going to wake up on his own and he wasn't sure if he wanted to wake the boy up. harry didn't want to get him in a bad mood for stripping him away from his rest. but at the same time he wanted to wake him up and tell him a cheesy joke just to hear the evident smile that would appear on his face through his voice. harry loved that louis thought his riddles were "dorky" and made him "an idiot" for saying them. the words slipped so nicely from his lips and it made harry's heart feel so warm.

"louis," he repeated after briefly indulging in his own little daydream, this time in a much more clear voice.

again, his efforts weren't enough to wake the sleeping beauty softly snoring away in his slumber. a deep frown now made its way onto his face.

"i have a good riddle," he grumbled to himself with a pout. he felt like such a child, but he just really wanted louis to hear his riddle. and if he were to fall asleep, it would forever perish into the very back of his mind, where he wouldn't be able to access by the time he'd wake up.

"louis!" he whispered loudly in a sort of hiss.

"huh? what?" louis' raspy voice asked in confusion. he rubbed at his eyes with both of his hands, groaning when he'd felt moisture against his eyelids. "fuck," he whispered.

"what is it?" harry called out in confusion, completely setting aside the joke for that short moment of concern.

"i fucking drooled on my hand," he replied while wiping his chin and cheek with the sheets, "and my pillow."

harry only chuckled, making louis mumble a fond "shut up".

"but seriously, why did you decide to wake me up at the fucking ass crack of dawn?" louis whispered, eyebrows pinched and looking towards where harry was laying. the light posts outside provided little light for louis to barely see the outline of the other boy's body across the room.

"one, it's only gonna be eleven. and two, i have a really good riddle," harry replied, chewing on his lip and feeling guilty for waking louis up. he was glad it was dark. he didn't really want the other boy to see the upset expression on his face.

"oh brother," louis sighed.

"uhm... it's okay though, maybe some other time. i'm sorry i woke you up. you can go back to sleep now." harry said quietly while wrapping himself up with the covers, closing his eyes.

louis stayed quiet for a while, but responded nonetheless— to harry's utter surprise. "but now i want to hear it."

"really?!" the green eyed boy asked ecstatically.

"yes really. i'm already up, you might as well spill." louis smiled widely, chuckling softly.

"okay..." the other began, "i never ask questions, but am always answered. what am i?"

louis let a brief wave of silence gracefully wash over them while he thought about any possible answer to the absurd question. "no idea."

"a doorbell," harry said with a chuckle.

"goodnight!" louis exclaimed while pulling the covers over his head.

"wait— you didn't like it?" the curly haired boy asked, the frown prominent in his tone.

louis sighed happily, "that was incredibly quirky and a little dumb, but it still made me smile, so thank you."

and with that, harry was content for the rest of the night. "night, lou." he muttered as the smile on his face lingered while he closed his eyes and patiently waited for himself to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is everyone liking it so far? :)


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i personally love this one :') 
> 
> hope everyone is enjoying!

"psst." harry whispered from across the room, a wide goofy smile spreading across his face.

louis was currently too consumed with the homework he was working on and the music that blasted loudly in his ears to hear harry's soft voice. but harry knew very well that he wouldn't be heard.

"hey lou, i've got a secret," he continued to whisper with a giggle because louis only bobbed his head to the beat of the music that even harry could hear from his side of the room. "i like to wear my mum's clothes for fun. i've got a whole lot of her clothes that i stole from her in my bag."

harry laughed louder to himself, biting his lip when louis began to hum to the music. instinctively, harry looked over at louis, whose eyebrows were now knit together, tongue sticking out in the corner of his lips while he focused on the problem in front of him. a wide, fond smile overtook harry's features at this. louis looked so cute when he was focused and working hard.

"hey, lou." he whispered again, this time suppressing a giggle.

but of course louis didn't respond whatsoever to harry's calls, so the curly haired male grabbed his bag from beside his bed and pulled out a notebook. he teared a page out and grabbed a pen to write 'hey lou, i've got a riddle' along the lines, leaving his signature '-H' right underneath.

harry smiled widely to himself as he began to fold the piece of paper into an airplane. and with a hum, he brought the airplane up in the air, swiftly flicking it towards louis. he watched as it glided through the air towards the other boy, landing right in front of louis' tiny socked feet.

louis raised an eyebrow, lifting his gaze up from the work in front of him to look at what had caused a light breeze to brush softly against the sole of his feet like silk. he reached for the paper airplane, not bothering to look over at harry when he unfolded it.

he was already smiling and he didn't even know what his dorky friend had written.

louis paused his music to read over the words put down on the page in harry's handwriting. he let his eyes roll fondly, chuckling a little as he pulled his ear buds out and looked at harry.

the two not saying a single word, louis answered back in the note and flew the plane right back to harry, holding his chuckle back from escaping between his lips.

the curly haired boy only grinned in excitement, though, as he opened up the paper airplane, he let out a loud, dramatic gasp.

"no?" he read aloud, clutching his chest. "ouch."

louis let his head fall back while he laughed loudly, which harry only glared at.

until the laughter had subdued, however, harry said his riddle nonetheless, "when is homework not homework?"

louis let out a groan, covering his face with his hands while he slid them down. he turned to look at harry after, giving him an _'are you kidding me?'_ look.

harry only chuckled right back, dimples already poking at his cheeks.

"c'mon answer it." he encouraged with an innocent smile.

louis' narrow expression quickly softened when he saw the evident happiness on harry's face. he never wanted that to disappear. so, with a sigh and a smile, louis shrugged. "hit me with your best shot."

but he quickly regretted saying that.

"when it's turned in to the teacher!" harry exclaimed, crinkles forming by his eyes when he laughed harder than he should have.

this, of course, made louis roll his eyes and chuckle a bit, grabbing a pillow from beside him and throwing it right at harry.

"hey! what was that for?" the other asked in between his laughter, grabbing the pillow his face was hit with and hugging it close to his chest.

"for making that incredibly ironic joke when i'm actually doing homework!" louis said, voice loud and brimming with nothing but utter fondness.

"oh," harry said, lips pressing into a firm line as he rolled over to lay on his stomach. a serious expression quickly took over his features, eyebrows gently pinching together when he asked,"but do you know when you won't be doing homework anymore?"

"don't you dare." louis warned, shooting him a glare.

harry held back his laugh, quietly mumbling, "when you turn it in to the teacher."


	4. IV

"today is so boring, i am so close to gouging my eyes out with some melon ballers." louis complained while he lay on his back on his bed, a hand running through his hair before turning his head to look over at harry. it was a saturday. a day where he could get away with not drowning himself in assignments for once because those days were reserved for sunday nights. he had no plans that day, except lounging in, but even that got a little too mundane for his taste.

the curly haired boy only narrowed his eyebrows in response for a moment, lips pursed and, really, he just looked like a child who was just told to place the chocolate bar back where he had found it. _that_ made louis laugh.

"what?" louis asked.

"that..." harry cringed at the simple thought of gouging out his own eyeballs, shivering and shaking his head. "crazy. you're crazy."

"i'm at that level of boredom, h. i need some entertainment." louis replied, but quickly wished he hadn't.

"hey, i've got some great entertainment for you." his friend said while louis mentally choked himself because harry had that look on his face and a lit lightbulb hovering over his head.

"i swear if it's another one of your dumb riddles..." he warned, trying to suppress his smile but very much failing like all his previous attempts. he hoped harry didn't take it personal or that serious. in a way, he loved those punny riddles that made him roll his eyes and that he swore harry browsed the internet for. that kid most likely stayed up trying to memorize as many riddles as he could.

"it's not," harry responded, biting his lip to keep himself from smiling as he lay on his side so he was facing louis from across the room.

louis was skeptical, but nodded for him to go on nonetheless. and he glared at him as he saw the stupid grin on his face grow big. louis knew what was next.

"railroad crossing without any cars." the curly haired boy said simply.

maybe louis didn't know what was next.

"what?" he asked him, closing his eyes briefly and shaking his head in utter confusion.

"wait, you didn't let me finish." harry chuckled.

"you took too long," louis quickly fired back.

harry ignored him, repeating what he'd said before and chuckling at the groan coming from his best friend. "can you spell that without any R's?" he then added, finishing off the question.

louis sat up now, as if his new position would let the endless amounts of answers flow into his mind more easily. he brought his knees up to his chest, socked feet pressed against the bed as his arms wrapped loosely around his legs. harry could see the evident puzzled look on his expression and it only made him grin even wider, if that was even possible.

"want me to tell you the sentence again?" he asked.

"yes."

"railroad crossing without any cars." harry said, "remember, no r's."

while harry held back his mischievous chuckles, louis whispered the sentence over and over in his head, mentally removing the r's in every word. it was harder than it looked, and just as he was about to give up, louis got himself a slip of paper and a pen, where he wrote down _'railroad crossing without any cars'_ in his usual sloppy writing.

"ail-oad cossing without any cas?" louis finally said, tone questioning and head tilting to the side slightly as he glanced back at harry. he was so lost.

"no," the boy answered, "t-h-a-t."

"what the fuck!" louis exclaimed, raising his hands and letting them fall to his sides, slapping the bed. "how is that possible!?"

harry let his head roll back as he laughed at his best friend's reaction, continuing to listen to his comments of disbelief.

"explain," louis demanded, still unable to fathom how the hell 'railroad crossing without any cars' without r's was spelled t-h-a-t.

"lou, i asked you to spell _that_ without any r's." harry replied, cheeks aching now from how much he'd been smiling. "and besides, you pronounced the sentence rather than spelling it like i had asked."

"i am so done." louis mumbled.

"how's that for some entertainment?" he winked, chuckling afterwards.

"i'm asking for a new dorm mate."


	5. V

"finals are so close," louis spoke out loud to himself, staring into complete oblivion. the lights were shut off and he wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or to harry, but either way he emitted a long, almost dramatic sigh. "i am so not ready."

"you'll do great," harry reassured, almost making louis jump from the abrupt blurt of words he heard so unexpectedly.

"you're awake," the older brunette said, surprise in his tone and a nervous laugh falling from his lips afterwards. he wasn't sure himself if he had said it as a question or a statement, but nonetheless, harry had caught him off guard. louis lazily reached his arm out to turn the little lamp on his nightstand on to the lowest setting just enough light to make sure he wasn't hearing voices or anything. 

"mmm, yes. at least i think i am." harry joked, lips pulling across his face into a wide smile when he heard louis' muffled groan. oddly, it made harry so giddy inside— the way louis' eyes would roll or when he'd urge out an assembly of annoyed noises at something harry had said. they were endearing, really. he knew louis didn't really mean them. the wide smile on louis' face always told him so.

harry realized he had drifted into his own thoughts, shaking his head to bring himself back to the silence that lingered before them. he stared off into space, curled up in his bed with his ear pressed to the soft pillow. it was only 10 o'clock, but he was tired.

but never too tired for a good ol' riddle.

"hey lou," he spoke up, dragging out the only syllable in his nickname, his tone alluding and almost threatening to louis' peace. harry couldn't help but grin widely, dimples poking at either cheek as he stared at louis' dim figure from across the room.

"what?" the other brunette replied, shifting in his bed, turning on his side so he faced where harry was. he was tentative in answering back because he knew what was coming, and he wasn't sure if he should fall asleep as quick as he could or stay up and listen to the cheeky bastard across from him.

but of course, he decided on the latter.

"what asks but never answers?" harry replied with absolutely no warning, not that louis needed one. the smaller brunette let out a loud groan, the noise stifled when he hid his face in his pillow.

"just answer it," the goofy boy encouraged with a laugh evoked from louis' frustration, "well, that crosses you out from the possible answers since you're gonna respond." he adds.

 _curse his smart mouth_.

"i have no idea, h." louis answers in a mumble, lifting his face off the pillow. his eyes were growing heavy as well as his lips, which begin to pout out as he rest his cheek on the fluffy support.

harry noticed the way louis' eyes began to blink slower and slower, opening with less effort every time, his long, perfectly curled eyelashes casting shadows on his cheeks thanks to the little light from his lamp provided that illuminated his soft features. harry smiled at that, even forgetting what he was going to say next.

"are you gonna tell me, then?" louis snaps impatiently after the pregnant pause he deemed too long, a smile cracking on his face and catching harry quite out of surprise. the curly haired boy only chuckles at that and nods his head, unruly curls tousling wildly over his face.

"right, right," he answers, "an owl!" he exclaimed, "an owl always asks 'who! who!'" a hard laugh practically knocked all the air out of his system, quite possibly waking up the whole floor. and he managed yet again to receive another lovely roll of louis' pretty cerulean eyes.

"i'm not sure if that was worth staying up for," louis replied. it was evident in his voice that he was trying so hard not to laugh as well. not that the riddle was funny, but harry's laugh was just so contagious. "if i fall asleep during class tomorrow i'm coming after you."he threatened with a grin.

harry only chuckled that annoyingly cute chuckle of his, and louis could practically feel the goofy dimpled smile obnoxiously radiating on that cute face of his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you guys think so far! :)


End file.
